“Support for establishing safe injection facilities (SIFs) — places where people can use their own illicit drugs under medical supervision — is growing in the United States, but the backlash against the model has been fierce.

Proponents of these sites, also called “safe consumption spaces” argue the facilities reduce the risk of dying from an overdose, prevent needles and other drug-related litter, and, in some instances, connect the substance users with treatment. Critics charge that the facilities are a form of government-sanctioned heroin addiction that do little to improve substance users’ quality of life.

To date, there are no legally sanctioned SIFs in the United States; however, a recent study suggests the presence of at least one unsanctioned facility in an undisclosed urban area in the U.S., according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM).”